Twenty years after Blues Deluxe, his first all-blues album, Joe Bonamassa delivers a sequel with 2023's Blues Deluxe, Vol. 2. He may follow the same blueprint -- it largely consists of covers, supplemented by two originals -- but the circumstances and collaborators have changed. Here, he foregoes using longtime producer Kevin Shirley to work with Josh Smith, a blues guitarist from Bonamassa's own generation who also contributes the album's closer "Is It Safe to Go Home." Smith helps give Blues Deluxe, Vol. 2 a loose, lived-in feeling that contrasts with the eager fire of the 2003 record. It's a change that suits Bonamassa well. Not pushing so hard with either his vocals or his guitar, Bonamassa instead settles into a muscular, horn-punctuated groove that rolls right through numbers by Bobby "Blue" Bland, Guitar Slim, Ronnie Earle & the Broadcasters, Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac, and Albert King. Bonamassa solos plenty but the song is placed at the forefront throughout Blues Deluxe, Vol. 2 -- it's closer to an old LP from the '60s than to the shredding blues-rockers who followed in the wake of Stevie Ray Vaughan, which is a roundabout way of saying that Bonamassa's blues seem to be deepening as he grows older, which is not a bad thing at all. © Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo

From the very beginning of his musical career, Steven Wilson has worked in a variety of genres. These include the classy experimentalism of No-Man, the classic rock approach of Blackfield, the indie, progressive, and gothic-heavy metal statements of Porcupine Tree, and the electronic explorations of Bass Communion, as well as his solo recordings that rely on prog and, more recently, sophisticated pop/rock. Transience is a limited-edition three-sided vinyl-only compilation (the fourth side contains no music, but a handwritten lyric etching for the song "Happy Returns." Wilson's intention was to create "...a more easygoing introduction to my music. These are mostly the shorter song-based tracks (some represented by edits) recorded between 2003 and 2015." With the exception of the seven-plus-minute final cut, "Drive Home," from The Raven That Refused to Sing and Other Stories, the remainder rove between three to under six minutes. The set also includes a brand-new version of "Lazarus" released especially for this album. The title track is the single version from Hand. Cannot. Erase. and the edited versions of "Happy Returns" and "Deform to Form a Star" still serve the elemental flow, regardless of their original source: solo, Porcupine Tree, et al. The only complaint is format. In "trying to sequence an album that would act as a more easygoing introduction to my music" while choosing a limited-edition vinyl pressing, Wilson appears to be at cross purposes with his intention. Nonetheless, this is an excellent, if quirky, introduction to one (accessible) aspect of Wilson's multidimensional persona; it will serve fans -- and newcomers -- willing to take the plunge.© Thom Jurek /TiVo

And then, in a flash, Kanye was everywhere, transformed from respected producer to big-name producer/MC, throwing a fit at the American Music Awards, performing "Jesus Walks" at the Grammys, wearing his diamond-studded Jesus piece, appearing on the cover of Time, running his mouth 24/7. One thing that remains unchanged is Kanye's hunger, even though his head has swollen to the point where it could be separated from his body, shot into space, and considered a planet. Raised middle class, Kanye didn't have to hustle his way out of poverty, the number one key to credibility for many hip-hop fans, whether it comes to rapper turned rapping label presidents or suburban teens. And now that he has proved himself in another way, through his stratospheric success -- which also won him a gaggle of haters as passionate as his followers -- he doesn't want to be seen as a novelty whose ambitions have been fulfilled. On Late Registration, he finds himself backed into a corner, albeit as king of the mountain. It's a paradox, which is exactly what he thrives on. His follow-up to The College Dropout isn't likely to change the minds of the resistant. As an MC, Kanye remains limited, with all-too-familiar flows that weren't exceptional to begin with (you could place a number of these rhymes over College Dropout beats). He uses the same lyrical strategies as well. Take lead single "Diamonds from Sierra Leone," in which he switches from boastful to rueful; more importantly, the conflict felt in owning blood diamonds will be lost on those who couldn't afford one with years of combined income. Even so, he can be tremendous as a pure writer, whether digging up uncovered topics (as on "Diamonds") or spinning a clever line ("Before anybody wanted K. West's beats, me and my girl split the buffet at KFC"). The production approach, however, is rather different from the debut. Crude beats and drastically tempo-shifted samples are replaced with a more traditionally musical touch from Jon Brion (Fiona Apple, Aimee Mann), who co-produces with West on most of the tracks. (Ironically, the Just Blaze-helmed "Touch the Sky" tops everything laid down by the pair, despite its heavy reliance on Curtis Mayfield's "Move on Up.") West and Brion are a good, if unlikely, match. Brion's string arrangements and brass flecks add a new dimension to West's beats without overshadowing them, and the results are neither too adventurous nor too conservative. While KRS-One was the first to proclaim, "I am hip-hop," Kanye West might as well be the first MC to boldly state, "I am pop." © Andy Kellman /TiVo

After building a solid core audience through relentless touring and a string of hard-rocking albums, Foghat finally hit the big time in 1975 with Fool for the City. It still stands out as the best album in the group's catalog because it matched their road-tested abilities as hard rockers to a consistent set of tunes that were both well-crafted and ambitious. The tone for the album is set by its title track: This hard-rocking gem not only pairs riff-driven verses with an effective shout-along chorus, but also throws in a few surprising moments where the guitars are taken out of the mix completely and Nick Jameson's bass is allowed to take the lead in a funky breakdown. Fool for the City also produced an enduring rock radio favorite in "Slow Ride," a stomping rock tune that transcends the inherent clichés of its "love is like a car ride" lyrics with a furious performance from the band and a clever arrangement that works in well-timed automotive sound effects during the verses and plays up the band's ability to work an R&B-styled groove into their hard-rocking sound (again, note the thumping bassline from Jameson). Further radio play was earned with "Take It or Leave It," an acoustic-based ballad that worked synthesizers into its subtle yet carefully layered arrangement to become one of the group's finest slow numbers. The album's other songs don't stand like the aforementioned selections, but they all flow together nicely thanks to a consistently inspired performance from the band and clever little arrangement frills that keep the group's boogie-oriented rock fresh (example: the witty spoken word bit at the end of "Drive Me Home"). All in all, Fool for the City is both Foghat's finest achievement in the studio and one of the high points of 1970s hard rock.© Donald A. Guarisco /TiVo

They’re back again! Stereophonics are back with their new album Oochya!, their 12th full-length album in 25 years. This Welsh band have no need to worry about empty stadiums or being taken off the airwaves, as they’re still charging their way through the British rock landscape with the same energy they’ve always had. There’s a lot of fuel left in this band’s tank for a while yet. Their longevity is, in the most part, owed to their tried and tested formula: fast, catchy rock melodies, simple choruses that stick in your head, and the stadium-busting energy of frontman Kelly Jones. The amazing Hanging on your Hinges opens the album with its fat riff, Forever hooks you with its well-defined loops and youthful 90’s momentum, Seen that Look Before sounds like a soundtrack from an 80s romcom, while Jack in a Box offers an intimate banjo ballad. A well-conceived album with the classic Stereophonics sound that’s always seamlessly executed. © Charlotte Saintoin/Qobuz

The third full-length by Australian metalcore band Parkway Drive finds them changing producers but not their fundamental approach. Where their first two discs were shaped by Killswitch Engage guitarist Adam D., the new one has Joe Barresi behind the boards. He's known for working with progressive-minded artists like Tool, Isis, and Coheed and Cambria, but Parkway Drive are about as un-progressive as you can get. Their downtuned, concussive sound fits right in with peers like Every Time I Die, Bleeding Through, Throwdown, and dozens if not hundreds of other bands. There are some surprises here, some side trips into more serious metal, with vocalist Winston McCall in particular shifting from a snarl not unlike Lamb of God's Randy Blythe to a harsh black metal-influenced shriek. Barresi has filled the low end with booming bass, and the drums are relatively free of the tick-tock triggering that plagues many other metalcore acts; indeed, they sound like they're played by a live human being in a big room, a bit of sonic wizardry many producers seem to have forgotten how to perform. No individual song leaps out, though the delicate voices at the beginning of "Home Is for the Heartless" and the undersea effect that kicks off "Sleepwalker" are cool tricks. Taken as a whole, Deep Blue demonstrates that Parkway Drive are very good at what they do, and just need someone to help them leap out from the pack a little more.© Phil Freeman /TiVo

The Big Heat has Stan Ridgway's love of film noir and Jim Thompson-style stories splashed gaudily all over it. The album is tremendous fun, even with its dependence on synthesizers and drum-machine work, since Ridgway's cynical delivery gives everything else an edge, even in the romance-gone-wrong atmosphere of "Walkin' Home Alone." The standouts include the Ennio Morricone-influenced title track, the demented "Pile Driver," "Drive She Said," and the over-the-top Vietnam tale "Camouflage."© Steven McDonald /TiVo

Ray Davies published a memoir chronicling his life-long affair with America in 2013. Naturally, it was called Americana, and that's also the title of this 2017 musical adaptation of the book. Davies plays a little fast and loose with his facts, which is perhaps a detriment in an autobiography but suits the condensed nature of songwriting. He doesn't tell a story with Americana -- it's not a song cycle along the lines of Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) -- but rather offers a series of vignettes, some torn from the pages of his book, others expanding upon its themes. Images of highways, cowboys, and movies dance through the songs, as do sly allusions to the Kinks. It's not just that there's an echo of "All Day and All of the Night" on "The Man Upstairs," either: "Poetry" recalls the pastoral jangle of Village Green Preservation Society and "The Great Highway" stomps like a Low Budget outtake. This is the key to understanding Americana. While there are a few nods to classic American music -- "A Place in Your Heart" rambles like an old country & western tune -- Americana is Davies examining how America has changed him, so it fits that his own work is threaded into the album. Backed by the Jayhawks -- an Americana band raised on the British Invasion -- Davies manages to skillfully pull off such subtle shifts in tone. Collaborating with a working band enlivens him -- there's snap and muscle here that were missing on the otherwise fine Working Man's Café -- and for as good as the songs are, what's initially so absorbing about Americana is this limber musicality. What makes it last are the songs, which are wry, moving, and truthful, which wasn't always the case in his book.© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo

Though shorn of the more overtly shoegazer-styled elements of their debut A Storm in Heaven, the Verve's sophomore effort A Northern Soul is no less epic in scope, forging a heavier, more traditionally psychedelic sound infused with a chaotic energy which mirrors the emotional upheaval at the heart of Richard Ashcroft's songs. Reportedly produced under the influence of excessive drug use, the album is harrowingly intense, its darkly hypnotic momentum steered by Nick McCabe's spiraling guitar leads and Ashcroft's incantatory vocals; tracks like the remarkable "On Your Own," "So It Goes," and the majestically morose "History" are searing evocations of isolation and desperation, soaring yet heartbreaking anthems of disillusionment and loss.© Jason Ankeny /TiVo

Though shorn of the more overtly shoegazer-styled elements of their debut A Storm in Heaven, the Verve's sophomore effort A Northern Soul is no less epic in scope, forging a heavier, more traditionally psychedelic sound infused with a chaotic energy which mirrors the emotional upheaval at the heart of Richard Ashcroft's songs. Reportedly produced under the influence of excessive drug use, the album is harrowingly intense, its darkly hypnotic momentum steered by Nick McCabe's spiraling guitar leads and Ashcroft's incantatory vocals; tracks like the remarkable "On Your Own," "So It Goes," and the majestically morose "History" are searing evocations of isolation and desperation, soaring yet heartbreaking anthems of disillusionment and loss.© Jason Ankeny /TiVo